AMG primed for four-cylinder power war

German brand's hot rod division ready to defend its title of having the most powerful four-cylinder engine against arch-rival Volkswagen.

AMG primed for four-cylinder power war

01 Jul 2014Andrew Maclean

Mercedes-Benz’s AMG division is primed for a four-cylinder power war with arch rivals from within the Volkswagen Group.

The hot rodders from Affalterbach established a new benchmark with its first-ever hot hatch in the A45 AMG, which is driven by the world’s most powerful four-cylinder engine; a 265kW/450Nm 2.0-litre turbo charged four cylinder.

But Volkswagen is planning to trump that with a four cylinder that can produce even more power.

The German brand displayed the Golf R400 at the recent Beijing motor show which produced 294kW while its sister brand, Audi, utilised the same engine in the TT Quattro Sport concept at the Geneva motor show but with a higher state of tune to generate 309kW.

AMG’s product planning manager, Oliver Wiech, told Drive during the launch of the S-Class Coupe in Italy last week that his division is prepared to defend its position in the race for more powerful four-cylinder engines.

Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG

“I would say, today we are alone in this segment,” he said.

“We pushed a car into an arena of performance compact cars where there is no competitor right now. We know that competition will rise and they don’t sleep. I guess we are prepared for this."